The Staff Nurse effectively applies all aspects of the Nursing Process within a collaborative, interdisciplinary practice setting. You will effectively implement health promotion and prevention interventions, and manage acute and chronic illness states. Your practice will be based on conscious deliberate planning and you must be self-directed in goal setting for managing complex patient situations in a medical/surgical setting. You will be responsible for the clinical, administrative, research and educational aspects of the assignment. CC nurses are expected to complete the national Moderate Sedation training module and become competent to administer and monitor conscious sedation patients within 3 months of entry to the unit. On weekends, off-tours and holidays the ICU's may be used as areas in which emergency procedures such as endoscopies or joint relocations may take place since ICU staff is already ACLS trained. Critical Care Nurses provide care twenty-four hours per day to patients who require ongoing care and encompass varying states of recuperation from diagnosis to treatment and promotion of health, recovery, or a peaceful death. Experience in a surgical setting is preferred; you must be competent to apply specific skills required for any area that you may be assigned, but especially for a diverse population of critically ill patients. These skills include, but are not limited to:

Stand at patient bedside for a prolonged period of time without sitting for purposes of monitoring and frequent assessment.

Current BLS/ACLS certifications

BASIC REQUIREMENTS:

U.S. citizenship. Non-citizens may be appointed when it is not possible to recruit qualified citizens in accordance with VA Policy.

Full unrestricted Licensure, Certification, or Registration required

Graduate of a school of professional nursing approved by the appropriate State-accrediting agency and accredited by one of the following accrediting bodies at the time the program was completed by the applicant: The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) or The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). In cases of graduates of foreign schools of professional nursing, possession of current, full, active and unrestricted registration will meet the requirement of graduation from an approved school of professional nursing.

Current, full, active, and unrestricted registration as a graduate professional nurse in a State, Territory or Commonwealth (i.e., Puerto Rico) of the United States, or the District of Columbia.

Grade Determinations: The following criteria must be met in determining the grade assignment of candidates, and if appropriate, the level within a grade:

Nurse I Level I - An Associate Degree (ADN) or Diploma in Nursing, with no additional nursing practice/experience required.

Nurse I Level II - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 1 year of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a bachelor's degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience; OR a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN) with no additional nursing practice/experience.

Nurse I Level III - An ADN or Diploma in Nursing and approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR an ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a BSN with approximately 1-2 years of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing (MSN) or related field with a BSN and no additional nursing practice/experience.

Nurse II - A BSN with approximately 2-3 years of nursing practice/experience; OR ADN or Diploma in Nursing and a Bachelor's degree in a related field and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Master's degree in nursing or related field with a BSN and approximately 1-2 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or meets basic requirements for appointment and has doctoral degree in a related field with no additional nursing practice/experience required.

Nurse III - Master's degree in nursing or related field with BSN and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience; OR a Doctoral degree in nursing or related field and approximately 2-3 year's of nursing practice/experience.

Reference:VA Regulations, specifically VA Handbook 5005, Part II, Appendix G-6 Nurse Qualification Standard.This can be found in the local Human Resources Office.

Education/Experience Requirements: Years of experience and educational degree factor into the determination of pay.

Preferred Experience: The VA hires new graduates. Some positions require nursing experience and this is detailed in the duty section of the announcement.

Conditions of Employment: (Failure to comply may be grounds for withdrawal of an offer of employment or dismissal after appointment).

Applicants must be citizens of the United States.

Applicants tentatively selected for certain designated positions may be subject to a random drug screening for illegal drug use. Applicants who refuse to be tested will be denied employment.

New Appointees will be subject to a background investigation to determine suitability. Male applicants born after December 31, 1959, must certify at the time of appointment that they have registered with the Selective Service system or are exempt for having to do so under Selective Service law.

Applicants must not be listed on the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Office of Inspector General Sanctions database.

Applicants selected for positions through this announcement may be subject to a one or two year probationary period.

38 U.S.C. 7402(d) and 7407(d) requires that persons appointed to direct patient-care positions must possess the required basic proficiency in spoken and written English.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) and/or documentation related to your active duty service which shows dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation.

Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veterans Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. For more information, please review the information for disabled Veterans in the application checklist or visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.

Veterans' Preference: When applying for Federal Jobs, eligible Veterans should claim preference on the Occupational Questionnaire in the section provided and provide a legible copy of your DD214(s) and/or documentation related to your active duty service which shows dates of service, character of service (honorable, general, etc.), or dates of impending separation. Additionally, disabled veterans and others eligible for 10-point preference (such as widows or mothers of eligible Veterans) must also submit an SF-15 "Application for 10 Point Veterans Preference" with required proof as stated on the form. For more information, please visit http://www.fedshirevets.gov/job/vetpref/index.aspx.

You are encouraged to apply online. Applying online will allow you to review and track the status of your application. If you are unable to apply online or unable to upload your supporting documents to your online application, follow the directions located at the following site: http://www.vacareers.va.gov/application-process/faqs-other.asp

NOTE: If you applied online and your application is complete, do not fax the paper application (1203-FX) as this will overwrite your prior online responses and may result in you being found ineligible.